Vein stripping is surgery to remove varicose veins in the legs.

Vein stripping with ligation, avulsion, or ablation; Saphenous vein ligation

Varicose veins are swollen, painful veins that have filled with blood. They usually develop in the legs.

• Normally, valves in your veins keep your blood flowing forward, so the blood does not collect in one place.
• The valves with varicose veins are either damaged or missing. This causes the veins to become filled with blood, especially when you are standing.

Vein stripping for this problem is done to remove a large vein in the leg called the superficial saphenous vein.

Vein stripping takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Most people receive either:

• General anesthesia and will be unconscious and unable to feel pain.
• Spinal anesthesia , which will make the lower half of your body feel numb. You may also get medicine to help you relax.

Your surgeon will make two small surgical cuts in your leg.

• The cuts will be near the top and bottom of your damaged vein. One will be in your groin. The other will be farther down your leg, either in your calf or ankle.
• Your surgeon will then thread a thin, flexible plastic wire into the vein through your groin. Your surgeon will guide the wire through your vein toward the other cut farther down your leg.
• The wire is pulled out through the lower cut, which pulls the vein out with it.
• Your surgeon may also use hooks to pull out veins during this procedure.

If you have other damaged veins, your surgeon may also make small incisions over them to remove them or tie them off.

The doctor will close the incisions with sutures (stitches). You will have bandages and compression stockings on your leg after the procedure.

Vein stripping may be recommended for:

• Varicose veins that cause problems with blood flow (venous insufficiency)
• Leg pain, often described as heavy or tired
• Ulcers or sores that are caused by excess pressure in the veins (venous ulcers)
• Blood clots or inflammation in the veins (phlebitis)
• Improving the appearance of the leg
• Lipodermatosclerosis - fatty tissue under the skin that hardens over time from high blood pressure in a vein

Images

Circulatory system

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Varicose vein stripping Risks

Review Date: 05/17/2010
Reviewed By: Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, Specializing in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)